Sock Hop

epic.

legs tired.

was on the sewing machine for 5 hours.

then decorated and socialized and danced for another 6.

it was fun.

but my legs hurt.

Caleb danced! As did Wesley! And Mrs. Bond! I am proud of them.

and good to see Sandy :)

Kathryne

blind seams

Did not realize until these past few days just how important my vision is to me. Had I lived pre-glasses, I would be pretty much... in a bad spot, let's just say.

However, I did begin the top for my Sock Hop dress tonight (YES I KNOW IT'S TOMORROW) and although I was very nervous (never actually made a top that fit well/looked good without a pattern before)... IT WORKED. and the hem I did is nice and even and straight, even though I could not see what I was doing. Maybe I should always sew without glasses/contacts. I hate hemming.

Kathryne

PS- HAHAHAHAHAHA just remembered, FUNNIEST thing all day... while setting up for the Sock Hop, Rachel's little brother Zach goes, "I like Katie best. She's not a perfectionist like you all!" (speaking of Rachel and Megan.)
I am in tears. Rachel is on the floor. Mrs C goes, "Zach, Katie is the worst of the bunch."
And I say, "Well... not everything has to be perfect. But if I deem it must be perfect, it must be VERY perfect."
Mrs C: "The world according to Katie."

PPS- this is not very optimistic, but... in March 2010, there were 9 functioning & active Optimism Initiatives. By mid-April, there were 11. Now? poor, lonely me... okay, and occasionally Colin, and about every three months David. BUT STILL. Did I really initiate a (dare I say it) fad? And did it (oh, it hurts) die?! And if it's dead, why am I still doing it two years later? Because, yes, Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the internet goes off again (aside from email, and I CAN still do remote-posting through it!)
I think it is going to be hard this year. Last year I just got 20-45 emails/day from various people, but I don't think it will be quite that intense this time around (see: Christine in small-internet land). So I will actually, like, have to find other things to do with myself that do not involve the computer and obsessively clicking the "Get Mail" button. Fascinating. Also, last year I was on chat quite a lot, and this year I have effectively grounded myself from chat after the 5pm on weeknights, which is the time when I am most likely to be looking for distraction.
I think I need to go to bed. Yay ramblings...

mathy stuff

Using geometry (and dare I say it trig and calc) today...

it made me so happy to see Princess' proving trig identities homework today!
As you will see on my Facebook "interests" section*...

And speaking of interests, I made a petticoat for the first time today. Arc length ftw. It's very poofy.
[Sidenote: should anyone be interested in learning patience, one should take up sewing. For serious.]

I am such a nerd it is not even funny. But I think it is anyway, because my sense of humor is dead like that :)

Kathryne


* most of these speak for themselves: you should know, however, that I do not claim to PLAY piano or pennywhistle with any kind of efficiency... I just like them.

some pictures that make me smile from today

YESHHHHH

Kristen made fancy dinner :)

After over an hour at Joanne's, found a fabric I liked enough... :P (the dime is to show proportion on the dots.) This will be a Sock Hop dress, hopefully...!

Kathryne

Dear Christine,

Life in Bel Air this year has been horrible.
I might even go so far as to say, it's deplorable.
Every time I want so bad to see you
I must slap my own hand and say, "Stop! I will beat you!"
"If you do not stop this abominable wish
To see someone so far away as Africa... ish...
You will be miserable, take it from me
I've been there, you know, the depths I have seen--
The depths of the pit of Hell and despair."
(Okay, this drama thing is going nowhere)
But alas, through all of my self-reprobation,
I miss you; my heart is one huge conflagration.
It's burning and aching... oh, no, here we go...
Melodrama went out three decades ago.
Regardless, my dear, Christine, my friend,
I miss you a lot. So this poem I send.
My yearning for you is true ever-present;
Without you, it's quite hard to be effervescent.
So come back at your earliest convenience
For I miss you with all of my love and allegiance.


Kathryne

creating things

muahahahaha.

Kathryne

MLKJr Day

Today I ran errands. And did some thesis work (note to general population: Catcher in the Rye is similarly crude to Of Mice and Men or Native Son. WHEEEE. I'm seriously tired of this.)

Then I dropped off Amy's birthday present... finally :) along with a CD of some of Regina Spektor's wackiest, most-obscure demo tracks, I made this...

...which sums up life most beautifully.

And now it is snowing.

Can you say 2-hour delay?!

Kathryne

tuesday

I dislike Tuesdays. There is not much to look forward. So I made myself something to look forward by dressing myself in ridiculously saturated purple and hot pink and sparkles and my yellow-polka-dot hairbow (and it does NOT look bad! this was an accomplishment)... and then it snowed like a half inch and nobody came to small group. BOOOO.

But this is an Optimism Initiative, so... um...
I started piecing together my scrapbook?
And my cat let me pet him without biting me.

Kathryne

oddities

"Megan, cease the Wheelock's remix, please."

-Mr. C

I BEAT MOM AND DAVID IN BOGGLE! WHEEEEEE!!!!! (well, one round... barely... BUT STILL.)

My afternoon craft project:

...to last me until Christine gets home (the big black one stands for 9 days in EUROPE!)

I will upload pictures periodically as it shrinks, oh joyous thing!

Kathryne

one more day :)

Today was what I call my "bonus break" (the day all the public schoolers go back and I have off still :D)

First: got an email from Snapfish, by which I ordered some picture prints recently, with a coupon. Free shipping on my next order? 25% off? YES PLEASE! Expires December 31... 2010? Um, wasn't that like 3 days ago? Thank you, Snapfish.

Second: hanging out with Megan and Marina and Kirsten for our... wait for it... CRAFTERNOON. Yes, I am punny. haw haw. We talked, and made fun things.

Third: Voyage of the Dawn Treader! AAAHHHH! Movie review to come on Veloquence soonish.

Kathryne

PS- Kirsten, if you're reading this, that one picture of you on your mom's blog, with the cape, where you're looking at the camera... Facebook profile, NOW.

Gray Day :)

The Good: These past few days have been decidedly gray. And I like them. It's like The Secret Garden, or those Beatrix Potter videos, or really any film that takes place in premodern Britain. It's quite nice, at least, when I am wearing gloves and a sweater.

The Bad: Math.

The Random: Dug through my computer archives to find something to post on Awesome Possum. Found some surprisingly good poems I wrote in elementary school. I think I was a better poet then than now.

Kathryne

PS~ Lit assignment! it's finished!

From the YouTube description:

This is my first attempt at a semi-surrealist film. It is based on the fifteenth stanza of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself."

Music is the beginning of Cry of the Heart from Michael W Smith's "Freedom."

EXPLANATION:
As this is surrealist, I cannot fully explain it (*devious laugh*). However, note Whitman's ending comments in stanza XV:

"And these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them,
And such as it is to be of these more or less I am"

He comes to the forty-six people described in the stanza with open, empty hands. Not one of those forty-six is a poet or anything like Walt Whitman. I think he is trying to make the point that the others mentioned ARE Walt Whitman. And Walt Whitman IS them. He comes with nothing of his own, wanting to absorb the feelings, thoughts, and habits of the others.

:D

spent the afternoon with Amy, which was wonderful.

spent the evening working on a music video with Kristen and her friend. it's going to be... sorry Dad... epic.

spending the now missing Christine and feasting on chocolate and imaginary biscotti, because I'm that cool.

Kathryne

QSG etc

:D

I am here with CHRISTINE!

We have done many fun things this evening.

Like making devious plans for tomorrow, which may or may not involve going to Rita's in 1860s clothing complete with hoop skirts.

Or, like making surprising observations about tomorrow, which may or may not involve the fact that it will be the 1 year anniversary of the first time we ever actually talked to each other.

Or, like making other interesting things, which may or may not involve yet another blog and/or a certain doofus.

Or, like making silly reading errors, which may or may not involve thinking a friend said "the chances of us breaking up get higher when we're dating."

Or, like making even more nefarious plans, which may or may not involve guilt-tripping a certain owner of a certain beloved car who may want to sell said certain beloved car... into not selling said certain beloved car.

BPAC :)

Kathryne & Christine

workworkworkwork... and things to do!

I had a fabulous time at work. I was talking to my dad on the way back about the ways God blessed me today... and I think it struck him that I was most thankful out of everything, not for the "Intern Appreciation Day" Starbucks or time I got to spend emailing and chatting at lunch, but for work to do. And it's true, I don't like to be idle.

Today I got to work with movies!
and political campaign websites!
and more movies!
And that made me so HAPPY!

I think I was actually useful today. They put me in my area of expertise. and I was happy.

Intern Appreciation Day is not a half-bad idea either.


Kathryne

Firsts and Lasts...

Well. Today I did/made/had my first:

• sushi? sushimi?
• Pork bun... thing
• experience playing (and losing) Super Smash... something... on Wii
• cheap oil pastel (aka unsharpened crayon) drawing... thing
• random stranger say I was hot?

*SIDETRACK*

That was really funny.

Picture this:

I am at my library, walking out of the Reading List section with such wonderful things as Jane Eyre, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and The Silmarillion.

This random guy (he looked to be about 15) looked up from his computer and says, "hi."

A young boy with him, probably his brother who would be 7 or 8, says, "Well, that was random."

I am about 8 or 9 yards away when I hear, "She's hot!"

The younger boy, obviously mortified and much more sensible, urgently says something under his breath.

His brother responds in a whisper, still loud and clear, "Yeah, I did say that pretty loud... I wonder if she heard me."

I roll my eyes at this point, but since I have turned the corner into another row of books they cannot see me.

And now for lasts:

• that was my last time EVER eating those red bean paste things... I'm sorry Sandy, it tasted like styrofoam.
• this is my last post for a week... I'm off on vacation with my grandparents :)

Kathryne

Ramen noodles :P

stayed in my PJs all day and worked on my dumb Surrealist art project.

BUT

it is finished.

AND

I might have a swimsuit? finally?

Kathryne

I fancy fringe and fluffy things :)

Kristen was cleaning her room today and found this awesome fringed shawl-thing... and she didn't want it, so she gave it to me :)

Of course, I had to make it into a shirt... nothing a knot and a safety pin wouldn't do for me :P

Also, I babysat tonight :)

They have a psychotic (albeit FLUFFY) cat. Seriously, the thing was attacking my leg when I didn't pay it enough attention.

ALSO, my art project is almost done! YAY Photoshop!!!

Kathryne

happyhappyhappyhappyEFFERVESCENT.

Good, good night tonight. Swing dance, of course :)

Swing dance used to have another area available for people to hang out in when they didn't want to dance, but they always broke stuff. So there were little signs up telling people to stay in the main room. Well, Christine and I were sorta bored and the signs were kinda itty bitty, so we made bigger, better, beautifuller signs!

(click on them to see full beautifulness)

Also, found a video that my sister took of my doggie... hehe.

Kathryne

PS- I soooo called that one :D

Ambition!

Yay!

So, Thursday, my Headmaster approached me about the "End of the Year Celebration" (read: Awards Ceremony). Since our little choir was so fabulous on Monday, he wants us to do do two songs at the end of the year thing. New songs. 2.5 weeks to prepare.

I'm like, okay, cool. Good songs. What Wondrous Love is This (amazing a cappella) and The Precious Blood (Sovereign Grace).

Unfortunately... well... I am the only one who halfway plays piano. So, I have to alltheway play piano. And while I don't need to worry about the a cappella beauty of WWLiT, The Precious Blood has a HARD piano part. Okay, it isn't that bad. But it's hard for a girl who only reads music for singing (so, can sight read the treble clef) and only took one year of lessons. And it's hard to play while singing.

I considered just using the chords and making up something half-decent like I usually do.

BUT.

I worked on it.

And worked.

And worked.

In fact, that's what I've been doing with all my free time.

And I think I have it!

And, yes, pride is a bad thing, but I am glad I stuck it out. It isn't great, but it's better than the cheat way :P

Kathryne

PS- Happy Birthday, Daddy!

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

We politely pardoned the party pooper in purple pajama pants, and she partook of the pile of patiently prepared perfectly pretty particularly petite (racist) papery pale puffy pancakes.

Thus, our morning.

TADA!

(true story. seriously.)


Kathryne & Christine